Ratify Agreement 0026 Mosquitia 2013

The Honduran government officially recognizes the Mosquitia Region, which includes six municipalities in Gracias a Dios department (Puerto Lempira, Brus Laguna, Ahuas, Juan Francisco Bulnes, Villeda Morales, and Wampusirpi). This decision fulfills an agreement with the Masta indigenous organization to develop a model that respects indigenous identity and worldview in the territory.

That in Article 11 of the General Law of Public Administration it is established that the President of the Republic has charge of the supreme direction and coordination of the centralized and decentralized Public Administration. The President of the Republic in the exercise of his functions, may act by himself or in Council of Ministers.

That it is the faculty and responsibility of the Executive Power to direct policies and make the decisions that correspond, in order to materialize all those works that are part of the Vision of Country and the Plan of Nation approved by Legislative Decree No. 286-2009 which contains the Law for the Establishment of a Vision of Country and the Adoption of a Plan of Nation for Honduras.

That by Decree No. 180-2003, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", on December 30, 2003, the Law of Territorial Planning is created and in accordance with what is established in Article 21 of Decree 286-2009; all functions assigned in the Law of Territorial Planning to the State Secretary in the Departments of Internal Affairs and Justice, shall be performed by the Technical Secretariat of Planning and External Cooperation (SEPLAN).

That the Law for the Establishment of a Vision of Country and the Adoption of a Plan of Nation in its Article 5 final paragraph establishes that the municipalities included within each region shall be certified by the General Directorate of Territorial Planning.

That in accordance with the Agreement signed by the Indigenous Miskito Organization "MASTA", the Presidency of the Republic and its State Secretaries on September 19, 2012, it was established in the document in its numeral 3), "That within the framework of the Plan of Nation and Vision of Country", declare as indigenous territory the entirety of the Department of Gracias a Dios where a development model with identity will be implemented from the indigenous worldview for which SEPLAN shall review and adjust the corresponding current regulations.

That in view of what is described in the preceding Whereas clause, the Technical Secretariat of Planning and External Cooperation (SEPLAN), through the General Directorate of Territorial Planning designates the Municipalities that will be located within the Region of La Mosquitia; which were identified by Ministerial Agreement Number 00261 dated November 9, 2012.